The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it has settled with 13 companies on charges “they misled consumers by claiming they were certified members of the U.S.-EU or U.S.-Swiss Safe Harbor frameworks when their certifications lapsed or the companies had never applied for membership in the program at all.” The companies include a data broker, IT forensics firm, medical waste solution provider—even Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure. Under the settlement, the companies are “prohibited from misrepresenting the extent to which they participate in any privacy or data security program sponsored by the government or other self-regulatory or standard-setting organization.” Meanwhile, the FTC awarded a $25,000 cash prize to the makers of RoboKiller, a mobile app that “blocks and forwards robocalls to a crowd-sourced honeypot.” Other prizes were awarded as well as part of the National Day of Civic Hacking in June.
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